13th September 2019

13 Sep 13th September 2019

Police in Aberdeen have been unable to deliver on a promise to tackle the city’s drug problems because the Queen has been at Balmoral Castle, it has emerged. The Force pledged to increase efforts to crack down on dealing and related crime in and around George Street back in May. They had been brought in for the month of December after complaints the scale of drug activity had reached “crisis point”. But four months on, police have confirmed the high visibility patrols expected to be taking place every Wednesday and Saturday have yet to begin. It is understood requests for additional officers to walk the beat regularly have so far not been granted by bosses due to a lack of resources. The Queen’s residence at her Aberdeenshire summer home, security operations around Offshore Europe and Brexit preparations have been blamed, alongside a shortage of cover because of summer holidays.

Police Scotland is “struggling” to keep its buildings, vehicles and computer equipment functioning because of a lack of cash, MSPs have been told. And senior figures from the force have warned that the condition of police stations and other parts of the estate could get worse unless additional resources were found. David Page, deputy chief officer with Police Scotland, said that as it stood the force was effectively “putting band aids” on to try to deal with problems with buildings, vehicles and computer systems. He stated: “We’ve got to try to keep the fleet, estate and ICT working, which we are struggling to do.”

The policing bill for a major climate change summit to be held in Glasgow next year could amount to “many tens of millions of pounds”, Police Scotland has warned. It was announced on Tuesday that the United Nations had chosen Scotland’s largest city to host the COP26 event in November 2020. The 26th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will bring about 30,000 delegates to the city’s Scottish Event Campus.

The policing bill for a major climate change summit to be held in Glasgow next year could amount to “many tens of millions of pounds”, Police Scotland has warned. It was announced on Tuesday that the United Nations had chosen Scotland’s largest city to host the COP26 event in November 2020. The 26th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will bring about 30,000 delegates to the city’s Scottish Event Campus (SEC).

The Scottish Government has been asked to consider proposals to make false allegations against another person a hate crime. The call was made by a woman who says she was the victim of “malicious and destructive” false accusations. Frances Nixon has lodged a petition urging ministers to change the law in Scotland so anyone who “deliberately and maliciously makes false accusations against another person” faces either criminal charges in serious cases or a heavy fine in less serious cases. In her submission, Nixon details her own experiences, saying she was arrested and could have faced a trial and jail time as a result of the allegations if she had not had a witness.

Convicted criminals who are fined by the courts could soon have to pay money towards supporting victims of crime. A victim surcharge would be levied on top of all fines in Scottish courts, with the money going towards a fund that can be used by organisations supporting victims. Victims and support organisations would be able to apply to the fund for the costs of providing short-term and practical support, such as new windows and locks for burglary victims or funeral expenses for families of murder victims.

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